Humberto Morales was arrested in Davis last year. He was stopped at 7:45 am by the Davis Police Department who found car stereos and CD players with wires sticking out of them in his vehicle.
Within an hour the police department was able to locate a victim whose car had been burglarized. Within Mr. Morales’ vehicle was a number of stolen items.
Water Rate Increase Becomes Key Test For New Council – Two weeks ago, the council cited concerns of lack of public outreach and community awareness regarding the water hikes. In the first efforts to address these concerns, they temporarily delayed the implementation of water rate hikes that will come as the result of the large capital projects that have been approved in the last year.
It was a rainy day in February as a group of over 100 friends and family gathered to pay their respects to Richard “Andy” Schirnhofer. Funerals are never easy, but especially when they are that of a twenty-year-old, taking his own life in a prison cell far from the comfort of home.
This one was particularly hard. His friends, carrying out his casket, formed the word “injustice.” I did not know Mr. Schirnhofer, but the experience was very moving. The consensus was that he was no saint, he had his problems, but he seemed universally loved and admired by those in attendance.
The Davis City Council has an item on their consent calendar this evening that is a classic example of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Or as some people say, no good deed goes unpunished.
The basic speed law in California revolves around the 85th percentile. That is the speed that only 15% of the drivers exceed. Vehicle speeds are measured periodically on all major streets. In a town like Davis that would include Russell Boulevard, Covell Boulevard, F Street, Anderson Road, and many more.
We have been hearing for some time that Choices For Healthy Aging (CHA) was not happy with the ConAgra proposal, and they have finally gone public with those concerns.
They entitle their op-ed, which was co-written by a list of people so long it would almost be easier to name the people who did not write it than the people who did, “Our last, best chance for development responsive to community needs.”
In the past week, to the surprise of few, the Davis Teachers Association and Winfred Roberson came out in favor of Measure A, an increase to the parcel tax to help the district minimize the number of layoffs and programmatic cuts, as the result of ongoing cuts to the state budget for K-12 education.
Voters will decide in May via a mail-in ballot whether to increase the parcel tax by $200 per year.
Several people this week have reported having been a bit depressed by the course of the plastic bag ban debate that has occurred on this site and in the community. I would respond, as I have in the past, that this is as much about educating the public as it is about the fact that people tend to respond most when they disagree with a proposed policy as opposed to when they agree with one.
Education matters, after all, as there was a time people were not very conscious about the health hazards of smoking or other forms of pollution and they bought into the industry rhetoric that environmental regulation would harm the economy. Over time, people have recognized that environmental impact is as much a public health issue as anything else.
Last summer, the Vanguard covered the trial of Brienna Holmes in which the jury split on both counts. They voted 10-2 to acquit Ms. Holmes of a battery charge and 6-6 on a charge of resisting arrest.
The DA in this case decided not to refile the charges and Ms. Holmes has now filed a federal lawsuit which alleges her treatment violated her civil rights through unreasonable seizure, excessive force, malicious abuse of process and battery.
Council Gets First Chance With Residential Development Status Report to Issue Forth Changes in Council Guidelines – They request that the council directs staff to continue previously established policies of encouraging and processing applications for the remaining green light sites which “includes continued work on the planning of the Nishi site with the property owner and UC Davis representatives.”
Yolo County gears up for a death penalty case, in the case of Marco Topete, accused of shooting and killing Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz back in 2008. Like many in this county who have suffered from violent crimes, the family of Deputy Diaz has been brought into court to watch the proceedings with help from victims’ advocates, generally funded through grants in the DA’s Office.
In our view, we commiserate with their likely unbearable pain that they have had to suffer for all too long, and hope that this trial can provide them with both the closure and solace that they need.
Earlier this week, we reported on the layoff of ten sheriff’s deputies from Yolo County. The question that emerged from that article was based on an earlier editorial by the Sacramento Bee.
The Bee wrote, “Budget-strapped Yolo County approved the most generous retirement enhancements of any jurisdiction locally, almost doubling benefits for sheriff’s deputies in 2008 and giving non-safety workers a 25 percent pension boost. And those benefits were approved retroactively, meaning that the new, richer formulas were applied to employees’ prior years worked, not just future years – an extraordinary windfall for those workers near retirement age.”
A federal court on Thursday heard arguments in a case where gun-rights advocates have challenged the courts to determine how much discretion California’s law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.
County Sheriffs, the plaintiff argue, who handle the bulk of these situations, must issue permits to anyone who completes a training course and has no mental health problems or criminal background.
by Amani Rashid – The Domes, established in 1972, serve as affordable on-campus housing with rent averaging at only about $250. Some unique amenities offered by this community, which houses 28 students, are; organic gardens, community potlucks, a horseshoe arena, and a greenhouse.
Those who are pushing for the city to adopt a plastic bag ban – a proposal apparently that was so appalling and radical that the State Legislature took it up last year and had it narrowly fail – need to recognize that they have a very tough battle ahead as Bob Dunning has made this one of his campaigns, much as he did with Zipcar and wood burning.
Mr. Dunning was at least partially right on the Zipcar fiasco – it was a fiasco and city staff was dishonest about what was in the contract.
How Much Will This Victory Cost the GOP Down the Line is the Key Question – We shall now see whether that was wise thinking or fool-heartiness, because Wisconsin came up with a majority rule solution for the impasse that bypasses the budget process, by severing the collective bargaining rules change from the rest of the budget.
Jury selection has begun this week in the Yolo County Courthouse in Woodland. The task will be tall, picking a death-qualified jury in the case of Marco Topete, who is accused of murdering Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz.
In that case, Defense Attorneys were rebuffed by Judge Paul Richardson in their effort to exclude the death penalty, based on the excessive delay in California’s administration of the death penalty, that is argued to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
While the Vanguard reported on two examples that are currently of concern – the Human Resources director and her role in the next round of MOUs, and the Planning Department with regard to the ongoing ConAgra development at Cannery Park., we are examining both of those situations more closely.
We have been following the case of Bennie Moses, in which the trial began early last week. Mr. Moses faces multiple lifetimes in prison if convicted of charges that included raping and having sex with his daughter from the time that she was 12 until she was 21. He was arrested in July of 2009.
We will have a fuller discussion of the nature of the charges and the arguments in this case when the case concludes and the jury reaches its verdict.
The city of Davis Human Relations Commission is seeking nominations for this year’s Thong Hy Huynh Memorial Awards. The Commission will honor individuals and community organizations that have made significant contributions in addressing or improving civil and human rights issues in the community. The Commission encourages groups and individuals to submit award nominations prior to the deadline of Friday, April 15, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.
The award was established to acknowledge the racially motivated stabbing death of high school student Thong Hy Huynh on the Davis Senior High School campus in 1983. The annual awards recognize achievements in the areas of human and civil rights.
Nominations may be submitted in any of the following seven categories:
Yolo Superior Court is now accepting applications for the 2011/2012 Yolo County Grand Jury. Each July 1 the Yolo Superior Court impanels 19 grand jurors who serve as an arm of the judicial system, but act as an entirely independent body.
The primary civil function of the grand jury is to review the operations of city and county government as well as other tax supported agencies and special districts. Based on these assessments, the grand jury publishes its findings and may recommend constructive action to improve the quality and effectiveness of local government.
